Fraud Help South Africa: What to Do After a Scam

If someone is in immediate danger: contact your local emergency service. Do not use the contact details supplied by a suspected fraudster.

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Fraud help in South Africa: woman reviewing a suspicious letter with Cape Town’s Table Mountain in the background.

Finding Fraud Help in South Africa

Discovering that you have been scammed can leave you unsure about what to do next. A suspicious bank transfer, fake job offer, fraudulent investment or account opened in your name may require several different actions. This guide brings together fraud-help resources for South Africa so you can identify the organisations to contact and prepare the information they may need.

If money or banking information is involved, contact your bank promptly through its official app, website or the number on your card. Report the criminal incident to the South African Police Service (SAPS), and keep your case reference number. If your identity has been misused, the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) may also be able to assist with protective registration or victim support.

A Genuine Business Name Does Not Prove a Document Is Authentic

Fraudsters can misuse the names, logos and letterheads of real organisations to make false communications appear trustworthy. A convincing employment letter, invoice or investment document should still be checked independently before you send money or share personal information.

Our article on company letterhead security and scam prevention explains how copied business branding can be used to mislead recipients. You can also explore anti-fraud measures for business communication to understand how organisations can make their correspondence easier to verify.

Take the Next Step and Keep Your Evidence

Keep relevant messages, payment records, documents and website addresses. These can help your bank and the police understand what happened. Avoid sending further payments to anyone promising a guaranteed refund or offering to recover your money for an advance fee.

Use the sections below to find banking, police, identity-protection and consumer-complaint resources. If a document claims to have been issued through VerifiableLetter, you can check its details through our document verification portal. This service applies to documents issued through our platform.

1. Stop Further Losses

1. If you are in immediate danger or need urgent police assistance, call 10111.

2. Stop communicating with the suspected fraudster and do not send additional payments.

3. If money, cards or banking credentials are involved, contact your bank immediately through a verified channel. Ask it to secure affected accounts and investigate the transaction.

4. Preserve messages, emails, receipts, account details, website addresses and copies of suspicious documents. Record the dates and amounts involved.

5. Change compromised passwords from a trusted device. Start with your email and banking accounts, and enable multi-factor authentication where available.

6. If your mobile service unexpectedly stops working and you suspect a SIM swap, contact your mobile network and bank immediately.

7. Report the incident at your nearest SAPS police station and keep the case reference number.

8. Do not pay an unsolicited “recovery specialist” who promises to retrieve your money for an upfront fee.

2. Contact Your Bank or Payment Provider

Contact your bank’s fraud department immediately using its official app, the number printed on your card or contact details you find independently on its official website.

Explain whether you authorised the payment after being deceived, or whether the transaction occurred without your authorisation. Provide the amount, date, beneficiary details and transaction reference.

Ask the bank to secure affected cards or accounts and explain whether a payment recall, reversal or dispute is available. Recovery depends on the circumstances and is not guaranteed.

Tell the bank if you shared a password, PIN, one-time password, card details or remote access to your device. Mention any suspected SIM swap.

Keep your bank’s complaint reference and provide your SAPS case number when available. Do not delay contacting the bank while waiting for a police case number.

If the bank does not resolve your complaint satisfactorily, follow its formal complaints process. You can then approach the National Financial Ombud Scheme South Africa (NFO) to ask whether your complaint falls within its jurisdiction.

NFO complaints process:
https://nfosa.co.za/complaints-process/

3. Report the Fraud to Police

Report fraud at your nearest South African Police Service (SAPS) police station. For immediate danger or urgent police assistance, call 10111.

Bring identification if available, along with payment records, messages, emails, relevant account information and suspicious documents. Explain the sequence of events and the loss or misuse you have identified.

Ask for your Crime Administration System (CAS) case number and keep the investigating officer’s contact details when provided. Give the case number to your bank or other organisations handling the incident.

Crime Stop, 08600 10111, accepts information about criminal activity, including anonymous tips. Do not assume that an anonymous tip replaces opening a formal case for your own loss.

SAPS social-media pages are not a channel for opening a criminal case.

4. Report Cybercrime and Online Fraud

Report criminal online fraud to SAPS at your nearest police station. This includes phishing-related losses, account takeover, online shopping scams, fraudulent electronic payments and other suspected cybercrime.

Preserve relevant emails, messages, usernames, website addresses, transaction references and screenshots. Keep original electronic records where possible.

If you suspect that a device is compromised, stop using it for banking or password changes. Use another trusted device to contact your bank and secure accounts.

Notify the affected bank, email service, social platform, marketplace or mobile network through its official reporting process. Reporting an account or advertisement to a platform does not replace a police report.

If the incident affects a business, notify its IT or security team promptly so it can contain the incident and preserve technical evidence.

5. Protect Your Identity

If your identity document or personal information has been misused, report the incident to SAPS and notify each bank, lender or service provider involved.

Contact the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) about Protective Registration. This free service helps participating organisations identify a heightened risk of impersonation. It does not guarantee that all fraudulent applications will be prevented.

If an account was opened fraudulently in your name, ask the provider to investigate and discuss a victim-of-impersonation filing with SAFPS.

SAFPS telephone: 011 867 2234
Protective Registration email: [email protected]
Website:
https://www.safps.org.za/Home/OurServices_ApplyProtectiveRegistration

Secure your email, banking and mobile accounts. Contact the issuing authority if an identity document or passport has been lost, stolen or misused.

Check your credit reports and dispute accounts or enquiries you do not recognise. Keep copies of your police case reference, correspondence and dispute outcomes.

6. Protect Your Credit

Review your credit reports for unfamiliar accounts, credit enquiries and incorrect personal details. Contact both the credit bureau showing the information and the provider that supplied it.

TransUnion South Africa
Request an investigation into information you believe is fraudulent or inaccurate. Its credit-information dispute service is free.
https://www.transunion.co.za/assistance/credit-report-dispute

Experian South Africa
Use Experian’s official consumer page to access its credit-report service and dispute process.
https://www.experian.co.za/consumer

Explain why you believe the information is incorrect and provide supporting documents through the organisation’s secure process. Keep a reference number for every dispute.

These are two credit bureaus you can start with; they are not an exhaustive list. Check any other bureau identified by an affected lender.

SAFPS Protective Registration is a separate identity-protection measure. It does not automatically remove fraudulent accounts from your credit reports.

7. Consumer-Protection Resources

National Consumer Commission (NCC)
For a consumer dispute involving a supplier of goods or services, consult the NCC’s complaint instructions and use its e-Services portal where appropriate. Keep proof of purchase and correspondence with the supplier.
https://thencc.org.za/complaints/

National Financial Ombud Scheme South Africa (NFO)
For an unresolved complaint involving a participating bank, insurer or credit provider, first complete the provider’s complaints process, then ask the NFO about assistance.
https://nfosa.co.za/complaints-process/

Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA)
For concerns about a financial-services provider or a suspected investment scam, use the FSCA’s official enquiries and complaints channels. Independently verify any claimed financial-services authorisation.
https://www.fsca.co.za/Contact-Us/

These complaint routes have different responsibilities. They do not replace reporting a suspected criminal offence to SAPS, and they do not guarantee reimbursement.

8. Employment and Immigration Fraud

Verify a job offer directly with the employer using contact details you find independently. Do not rely only on the logo, letterhead, telephone number or website supplied by the recruiter.

Treat demands for recruitment, shortlisting or placement fees as a serious warning sign. South Africa’s Department of Employment and Labour warns work seekers against paying for employment.

If someone is impersonating the Department, contact your nearest Department of Employment and Labour office or email [email protected].

For a job linked to immigration or a work visa, verify the requirements with the relevant government authority or embassy before paying. A genuine employer’s name does not prove that a recruiter, offer letter or visa document is authentic.

If you have already paid, contact your bank promptly and report the suspected fraud to SAPS. Preserve the advertisement, offer letter, messages, receipts and recruiter’s details.

Do not allow a supposed employer to use your personal bank account to receive or forward money for other people.

Official Contacts and Telephone Numbers

SAPS emergency assistance
Telephone: 10111
For immediate danger or urgent police assistance.

SAPS Crime Stop
Telephone: 08600 10111
For information about criminal activity, including anonymous tips. This number is for use within South Africa.

Formal criminal reports
Visit your nearest SAPS police station.
https://www.saps.gov.za/services/report_crime.php

Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS)
Telephone: 011 867 2234
Protective Registration email: [email protected]
https://www.safps.org.za/Home/OurServices_ApplyProtectiveRegistration

National Financial Ombud Scheme South Africa (NFO)
https://nfosa.co.za/complaints-process/

National Consumer Commission (NCC)
https://thencc.org.za/complaints/

Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA)
https://www.fsca.co.za/Contact-Us/

Department of Employment and Labour
Fraud-reporting email: [email protected]
For suspected impersonation of the Department or related fraudulent offers.

Report the Fraud

South African Police Service (SAPS)

National fraud-reporting website → Police reporting website → Cybercrime reporting website →

Official Sources

Received a suspicious business document?

Check whether a document issued through VerifiableLetter is authentic.

Verify a Suspicious Document Visit the Community Support Centre

Important: This guide provides general information and is not legal, financial or emergency advice. Reporting procedures and contact details may change. Confirm current requirements directly with the relevant organisation. Reporting fraud does not guarantee an investigation outcome, reimbursement or recovery of funds. In an emergency requiring police assistance, call 10111.